Haff disease

MEDICAL HISTORY, TOXICOLOGY

A condition defined as rhabdomyolysis within 24 hours of ingesting fish. It occurred in “epidemic” waves–1924, 1925, 1940–affecting ±1000 people who lived near Königsberg Bay, Lithuania and was recently reported in the US, all 6 cases had consumed buffalo fish–Ictiobus cyprinellus

Aetiology Ingestion of fish tainted with cellulose-derived toxic resins and/or arsine from paper-processing plants that discharged waste into Haff waters had been postulated, more recently, unidentified toxins in eels and fish have been blamed